Mary is the person who has experienced direct communion with God—like no one else—during her lifetime. Therefore, she serves as a model for all those who strive for cognitive experiential knowledge of God (cognitio Dei experimentalis). This study identifies the phenotype of Mariological thought throughout the entirety of German mysticism in the Middle Ages and demonstrates how the two originally separate phenomena of Mary and mysticism increasingly relate to and influence each other over the centuries. The result of these interdependencies is Marian mysticism, which presents Mary as a historically prototypical individual subject of mystical striving and makes her an imitable figure for all people. By imitating Mary, the prototypical mystic, anyone can experience and recognize God—whether affectively or speculatively. In the Imitatio, Mary should not be understood as a supernatural being or merely as a vessel of God, but as one among equals, a figure among us who shows us the way to God the Father. Marzena Górecka's dissertation, a historically descriptive inventory, addresses all essential aspects of the image of Mary and its development, taking an innovative step beyond traditional perspectives on Marian devotion.